The present invention(s) relates, in general, to safety footwear for use in harsh conditions, such as in a variety of agricultural, food processing, energy exploration, industrial, and/or hazmat environments.
Footwear developed to withstand harsh conditions, such as conditions in which the wearer is subject to constant exposure to water, chemicals, hot or cold temperatures, or natural corrosives, must be constructed to withstand those conditions while maintaining comfort for the wearer. A common area in which certain footwear is subject to one or more of the foregoing environments is, for example, in the oil drilling industry. Currently, drilling platforms may be in an environment in which the ground or working area is constantly muddy, laced with chemicals or corrosive additives used during drilling, or both. Fracking (or hydraulic fracturing) is a practice in the drilling industry in which the aforementioned conditions are commonly present. In such harsh working conditions, footwear often degrades or deteriorates entirely within a short period of time, subjecting the user to unnecessary costs in purchasing footwear at short intervals. For example, certain footwear available in the current market may only last for a period of two (2) or three (3) weeks in such conditions.
It is also the case that, with working conditions such as those encountered in the drilling industry, safety is paramount. Indeed, certain standards (e.g., those prescribed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), CSA, or EN-ISO) require that footwear used within these industries meet numerous safety requirements. As an example, any safety components introduced into the footwear must be integral to the construction of and non-removable from the footwear; or in other words, the user cannot remove the safety components once the footwear is purchased. Other safety requirements are also present, of course.
Further, solid elastomer and/or rubber footwear currently used in the above-noted environments tend to be heavy; and, since footwear weight and flexibility are factors that impact human ambulation efficiencies and/or the amount of energy expended during normal work shifts, these considerations may be significant. For example, heavy and/or non-flexible footwear may increase worker fatigue as compared to if lighter and/or more flexible footwear was used.
Particular methods of manufacturing footwear are also known in the industry, one of those being a method in which expandable polymeric materials (e.g., polyolefin elastomers (PE), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), or other such materials) are used. In short, expandable polymeric materials may be placed into an injection mold and formed into various footwear-type components. However, to date, incorporating such expanding footwear with industry and government regulated safety footwear performance features, as outlined in recognized Occupational Standards Bodies (ASTM F2413 and CSA 2195, for example), has not been possible.
Given the foregoing, there exists a need for lightweight footwear that can withstand harsh environments while providing ample safety for the user in those environments.